MBS Lending Ltd Conveyancing Panel Information

Unlike the CML the Building Society Mortgage Instructions deal with this. Section A.12 states ‘In order to act on our behalf your firm or company must be a member of our conveyancing panel provided we are a society that operates one – see specific requirements for details of our arrangements. The Special Requirements state:

You must also comply with the terms and conditions of your MBS Lending Ltd solicitor panel appointment.

The BSA Mortgage Instructions relevant to a solicitor on the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel indicates that when a further advance is required for alterations or improvements to the property we will not normally instruct a member of the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel but if you are instructed the appropriate provisions of the BSA mortgage instruction will need to be adhered to .

The requirements to join the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel is likely to be fairly detailed and is unlikely to include signing up to LENDERmonitor alerts.

The Law Society of Scotland has suggested that solicitors should check their lender panel status before accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel. The suggestion arises from the practice of a number of mortgage lenders who remove solicitors from their panels without prior notice as part of their panel management system, which can lead to some solicitors discovering this only once instructed. This is sensible advice as a client finding out midway through a transaction that their lawyer is not on the approved lender panel is very frustrating and can lead to complaints. Many online consumer forums contain posts where someone is complaining about finding that their lawyer is not on a lender conveyancing panel. Such forums include mumsnet.com

Criteria differ from lender to lender. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

• List of all those who fund the firm, including non-lawyers if applicable
• Full career history for each solicitor including admission date to the relevant Law Society
• Number of lender conveyancing panels the firm is currently on
• Charge registration history
• Structure of firm and, where applicable, its group
• List of all those who can sign off the Certificate Of Title
• Summary of annual accounts
• House price discrepancies (declared to lender vs. registered at Land Registry)
• Whether the firm has ever knowingly accepted instructions on transactions involving Sale and Rent Back, Back to Back, Exchange and Delayed Completion and Lease Option, Below Market Value.

In order to be on the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel solicitors have to complete an application form and agree Terms and Conditions. A sample of 5 conditions that we see amongst many lenders Terms (but not necessarily MBS Lending Ltd) are as follows:

• To carry out our instructions with reasonable care and skill, ensuring that all employees carrying out mortgage work on our behalf are qualified and competent to do so
• You have the consent of all borrowers to apply for the deeds, before making any request for deeds. We will accept your request for deeds on the understanding that you have obtained such consent. If this is not the case then you should advise our Deeds Services Department in writing when you make your request
• To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds.)
• To notify us in writing of any change in your details as held on our records for example, change of address, telephone number, document exchange number email address. Notification must be given to us at least 10 days before the change will be effective.
• To be responsible for the reconstitution of the title deeds (whether the title is registered or unregistered, at your own cost), where any deeds in your possession, or were last known to be in your possession, go missing.

BSA lenders do not come within the top 20 lenders in terms of frequency of questions. The most popular lender panels in terms of questions are as follows:

• Santander Conveyancing Panel
• National Westminster Bank Conveyancing Panel
• Royal Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel
• HSBC Conveyancing Panel
• Lloyds Conveyancing Panel